Veterans homes lose helpers

SACRAMENTO  A bogged down Congress has failed to reauthorize a work study program at veterans retirement homes, pushing 65 college students out of their part-time jobs at the Chula Vista facility and leaving those who served their country wondering what happens next.

“It’s just typical of everything that’s been going on in Congress,” said John Farrell, an Army veteran who lives at the Chula Vista home. “I’m just disgusted and outraged.”

Congress had a June 30 deadline to act and still could when they return Monday from a holiday break, But in the meantime work study students across the country will not be clocking in at state-run veterans’ retirement homes.

“We have never been at this point where absolutely nothing has been done with the exception of the language being introduced,” said a frustrated Dorothy Diaz, Chula Vista’s work study supervisor.

The uncertainty has put students, most of whom are veterans themselves, in a bind.

“It’s a life-changing decision,” said Luis Betancourt, who is now weighing whether to move out of state to find another job or gamble that Congress will eventually come through. A Navy veteran of three deployments, Betancourt is married with three children.

“Right now it’s stressful,” he said. Betancourt is applying for jobs, and still volunteers at the Chula Vista home as a way to give back to the residents.

“It’s a little hard when you have three little ones and no source of income,” Betancourt said.

The Chula Vista work study students help some 300 residents, including 165 living in the skilled nursing facility.

The students earn $8 an hour along with college credit. They work in offices, the pharmacy, and food service.

Many others assist the retired veterans with everyday life, from carrying dining trays to braiding hair to setting up computers.

“They’re here to make it as homelike as possible by doing the little things,” Diaz said.

Farrell said residents “seem to be hurt and bewildered” now that the students have been let go.

If history is a guide, quick action by Congress is not likely, In 2010 it took Congress six months after the deadline to reauthorize the work study budget. But at that time a bill was deeper in the process, Diaz said.

“I have never been in this situation where there appears to be no light at the end of the tunnel,” she said.

Two reauthorization measures have been languishing for months after being introduced.

Local representatives say they are pushing for a resolution.

“There are so many veterans with the skills and experiences that could be a benefit to employers,” Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, said in a statement. “This is a simple investment Congress can make.” Davis is a co-sponsor of a House measure along with Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, and a number of other members. Hunter, through a spokesman, said he will work to see that the bills move ahead as quickly as possible.

To qualify, students must be veterans — unless they are children of a service members with a service-connected disability or whose death was connected to the service. The students at Chula Vista mostly attend Southwestern University or San Diego State University.

In the last fiscal year, 10,000 younger veterans participated in work study nationwide, receiving $25.7 million in pay, according to figures provided the office of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who is carrying one of the bills to reauthorize the program for three more years. The overall proposed federal budget for this next fiscal year would increase work study spending by $9.5 million.